


Just Like Spies

by fabrega



Category: The Thick of It (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1336078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/pseuds/fabrega
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Ollie's defense, he does say in foresight this whole idea will be a disaster. None of this "in retrospect" business; it is bad from the start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Like Spies

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime mid-series 3. Written for the 2010 Thick of It V-Day Drabble Fest on LJ. Prompt was: "Olly hits on Sam. Malcolm reacts as you'd expect."

In Ollie's defense, he does say _in foresight_ this whole idea will be a disaster. None of this "in retrospect" business; it is bad from the start. But Nicola needs some papers off of Malcolm's desk--which, right there, bad idea to start with--and so they hatch a Cunning Plan. They'll wait until they know Malcolm has a meeting out of his office, then Ollie will distract Malcolm's secretary so that Glenn can sneak in and take back the papers Nicola accidentally gave Malcolm earlier, in the (almost undoubtedly vain) hopes that Malcolm hasn't noticed he's got them and won't notice they are gone.

And Ollie's pretty sure he can hold up his end of the plan--he is somehow good with women, although he doesn't really allow himself to think the "somehow"--but he is also pretty sure that Glenn is the sort of James Bond who is humming his own theme music in the back of his head as he goes, and it's not like Malcolm Tucker has the terrifying ability to show up where you least expect him, so no, there's _no way_ this could go wrong.

"Are you wearing _sunglasses_?" Ollie hisses to Glenn as they draw up to the hallway where Malcolm's office is. "This isn't actually espionage, Glenn, it's not like we're not going to sit in the park and exchange briefcases with the fucking Soviets. Take those off."

"Don't think I didn't see you fussing with your hair before we came over here, Lover Boy," Glenn hisses back, but he removes the sunglasses. His hands are maybe trembling. This is a _bad idea_.

The weird thing, Ollie thinks as he draws up to her desk, is that he hadn't really noticed before how cute Malcolm's secretary, Sam, actually is. Not that it matters; she has always been definitely off-limits. There is Malcolm to think of--and, come to think of it, Emma, who probably should have been the person Ollie thought of _before_ Malcolm. Still, the unmassaged statistics in the report that Nicola accidentally gave Malcolm are worth getting back, so he takes a deep breath, smiles like he knows what he's doing, and asks her how she is.

"Ollie Reeder, right?" she says, looking surprised that he's trying to talk to her. "From DoSAC? I'm sorry, he's not in right now."

"Oh, I'm not here to see Malcolm," Ollie says slowly, using the cadence he insists is flirty and suave (although Emma always laughs at him, saying it sounds stilted and slightly incompetent).

Sam tilts her head, bemused. "Well, is there something I can do for you?"

"I think there just might be." As he draws Sam away from her desk on the pretense of tea, he sees Glenn edging past them, rolling his eyes at Ollie as he goes.

They haven't been alone for more than thirty seconds--Sam has just begun to laugh at his jokes and touch her hair while she smiles at him--before Malcolm shows up behind them, holding Nicola's report in one hand and Glenn's ear in the other. Glenn is attached to this ear, and he does not look pleased in the least. Malcolm drops both these things when he sees the way Sam is looking at Ollie.

"I'll deal with you later," he growls at Glenn, who grabs the report and flees with what dignity he can.

Sam looks from Malcolm to Ollie and back again, then takes her tea and leaves.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" Malcolm explodes at Ollie, who tries his best not to cower away from the outburst.

"I'm fairly sure I don't have an answer to that you're going to like--" Ollie tries to begin, holding up his hands, open-palmed, in self-defense.

"You are not going to get your cock anywhere _near_ Sam; I know who you've been fucking, and you are not--" Malcolm interrupts Ollie, who interrupts him back: "Wait, Malcolm, it's not like that at all, that's not what this is about--"

"Oh, so you're too good for her? Is that it? Mr. Fancypants Oxbridge Fucking High and Mighty?"

At her desk around the corner, Sam just smiles to herself.


End file.
